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‘Bubble Boy’ leaves legacy
in immunology research
 The short life of one
famous Texas Children’s Hospital patient has enabled many
other children to live lives of hope and generated research
that has reached as far as Mars.
On Sept. 21, 1971, David
“the Bubble Boy” became one of the 50 to 100 infants born
each year with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), a
grave diagnosis given to children who lack a
complete immune system. At that time, the mechanics of
immunology were a mystery, and there was no cure for SCID.
“The lessons gleaned from
David’s short life dramatically changed the outcome for
others afflicted with SCID and milder forms of the disease,”
said
Dr. William Shearer, chief of
Allergy and Immunology at
Texas Children’s.
Suspecting the baby might
enter the world with the inherited condition that proved
fatal for his older brother, physicians at the
Baylor
College of Medicine Clinical Research Center at Texas
Children’s Hospital prepared extensively for the tiny
Houstonian’s germ-free birth and life.
Even though doctors
believed he might outgrow SCID by the age of 2, David lived
his entire life in “bubbles” — isolator containment systems
designed by NASA space flight engineers at Johnson Space
Center.
As he grew older, David
longed for a normal life. By the age of 12, supported by
family and friends, he opted for a bone marrow transplant —
the known cure for SCID — using his sister’s marrow.
Although the goal of the
procedure was to stimulate the growth of his immune system,
David died Feb. 22, 1984, from a cancerous infection, an
unfortunate consequence of the transplant.
In the month following his
death, Shearer and
Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, physician-in-chief
of Texas Children’s, created the David Center. Dedicated to
research, diagnosis and
treatment of immune deficiencies, the center’s staff of more
than 70 has given fresh hope to thousands around the world.
Since the David Center’s
opening, amazing strides have unlinked the genetic basis for
SCID. In fact, David’s own blood cells served as important
components in
investigations, including the first successful application
of gene therapy in France.
With the assistance of
investigators at the David Center, the National Space
Biomedical Research Institute is examining the effects of
space travel on the immune system and developing
countermeasures.
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Claude | David
| Fernando | Julie
Marcos
| Michael | Terra
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